The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri yesterday assured oil and gas players of sustained collaboration.
But he clarified that market forces would continue to determine the fuel price in a deregulated market.
The minister spoke at the Petroleum Industry Stakeholders Forum Meeting in Abuja, which brought together key players, including Federal Government agencies and other private operators.
At the meeting, the stakeholders commended the Federal Government for creating an enabling environment.
The minister noted that the forum was to build a consensus for articulation of what is best for the industry.
Lokpobiri said: “The whole essence of the meeting was to bring the entire leadership of the industry, oil industry together so that we will be able to build consensus around saying things that we think will be better for the industry.”
He said it is natural for prices to fluctuate in a deregulated market, adding that the international crude oil price is accountable for product price all over the world.
The minister said: “And so, nobody in a deregulated market can tell you that, okay, prices will come down or will not come down.
It is dictated by the international crude oil price. And Nigeria can’t be an exception at all.”
The minister said the essence of deregulation is for prices of petrol to oscillate in line with market forces.
He added: “The whole essence of deregulation is for price to find its level.”
The minister recalled that during the last Yuletide, the prices crashed to as low as N1,020 per litre, N999 per litre and so on in Bayelsa State where he monitored the petrol market.
He explained that in a deregulated regime, the concern of the government is to ensure quality control, product availability, and the dispensing of the right quantity.
He said: “What we are concerned about and I have always had that discussion with you, with the authority, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, that government is more interested in is quality control.
“What government is more interested in is availability. What government is particularly interested in is disposition of the right quantity. If I buy 10 liters of fuel, let it be that we are not surchanged by the pump fuel price. “
Lokpobiri said there were no queues in the last few weeks because of the competition that emanated from the deregulated market.
Asked whether the prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol would rise owing to the rising prices of crude oil, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), chairman, Huub Stockman, said the rise in crude oil price does not automatically mean an increase in petrol price.
He admitted that crude oil is a major component of the pricing template, noting that other market parameters also determine the cost of PMS.
He said aside from that it was too early to conclude that high crude oil price would result in increased petrol price, the time is also unpredictable.
He said: “I think that is always a bit of a crystal ball conversation, if you know what I mean. Because crude and product prices don’t always directly relate. And it’s not always so that when the crude changes, immediately all other products that are derivatives from it change.
“So if I would know, I would probably not be standing here, but I would do something else. But I think normally there is a correlation. But I think it is too early to say when or what impact it would have.”
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), National President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed that his members have been lifting products directly from Dangote Refinery and also from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
He said the direct lifting of the product has made it possible for independent marketers to sell at lower prices than the others.
The IPMAN boss said his association has maintained a uniform price of N935 per litre for petrol because of the partnership with Dangote Refinery.
Speaking, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), National President, Dr. Billy Hary recommended the meeting holds quarterly to ensure policies are unanimously discussed by all the organizations before the are rolled out.
He said: “And we recommend that it should be a quarterly one and emergencies should also be called to ensure that no organization or department of the government will roll out policies that are not discussed in a way that those who will obey those laws will certainly get answers quickly.”
The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Engr. Wole Ogunsanya said the industry has been battling to raise output.
He stressed that the present administration has increased production to the quota of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
He described the forum as the right thing to do as obtainable in the Middle East to sustain production volume.
He said even in the face of crashing prices, the forum would make it possible to ensure the production of sufficient volume to sustain the economy.
Ogunsanya said, “If you go to the Middle East, they have policies where the volume of oil and gas that is produced year in year out is sustained.
“So we’re supporting the minister to write a policy to ensure that this boom and bust that we’ve had in the Nigerian industry, we’re able to mitigate it. If you look at the price of oil, it started increasing since 2022.
“We were struggling to increase production and thanks to this minister and this administration, for the first time we are producing the level that OPEC has allocated to. Imagine if we started producing that for two years. We were struggling.
“So what other countries are doing in the Middle East is they sustain their production. Whether the oil price is up or down, they make sure they produce enough volume of oil and gas to sustain their economy.”
